Signs pointing toward a Constantine return

The Silvertips have scheduled a press conference for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Everett Events Center, and it’s looking even more like former Everett coach Kevin Constantine will be returning to the Tips.

Kamloops Daily News sports editor reported earlier this week that Constantine would be introduced as Everett’s new head coach Thursday. Well, the “Thursday” part of that prediction has come true. As for the Constantine part, information gathered the past couple days from additional sources has reinforced the notion that Constantine is the man.

So how about that? When Mark Ferner was fired in January, I would have taken all bets on Constantine being named Everett’s next head coach. I just couldn’t see it. While there was a certain amount of sentiment regarding the possibility of Constantine making a triumphant return, I had a hard time seeing the dots connect. While Constantine has a history with the Tips, he doesn’t have a history with Davidson (as far as I know). And Davidson stressed the desire to play an up-tempo offensive style, and Constantine is known as a defensive coach.

But Everett has been wandering the WHL wilderness since Constantine left in 2007. With the exception of the Radko Gudas-inspired 2009-10 season, the Tips have pretty much been the textbook definition of also-rans the past six seasons. If it is indeed Constantine, the Tips must believe his return will help kick-start Everett — particularly from an emotional standpoint — back into relevance.

This would be a somewhat different situation than the one Constantine walked into in 2003 when he took over Everett as an expansion franchise. On the one hand the Tips’ results the past couple years are similar to what one would expect from an expansion-type team. However, this is supposedly an Everett team on the rise, with some nice young pieces to build around. So Constantine would have more to work with initially.

But are these the right players to play Constantine’s style? Or can Constantine adjust his style to suit the players and the way Davidson wants to play? Why would Davidson choose Constantine, a coach who at first glance doesn’t appear to fit into his playing-style requirements? And what would motivate Constantine to want to return to the junior ranks after six seasons in the pros?

These are the questions that will be on my mind, should Constantine be the one who steps up to the podium Thursday.